Armed Response

by Janie Crouch

  She just wished she had someone to go home to.

  She shut down the computer and stood up, giving a small gasp when she saw Jace leaning against the wall a few feet behind her.

  “You’re lucky I didn’t have a weapon, Eakin. What the hell are you doing standing there all stalker-like?”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your memorization exercise.”

  “I wanted to make sure I was as familiar with the building as I could be. I thought you had already left.”

  “Smart. And no, not yet. I had a little bit of work to do here.”

  She couldn’t help noticing how good he looked in jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt rolled up at the wrists. He even had his boots on. He’d owned similar ones back in the day.

  His brown hair was cut shorter than it had been then, closer to military regulation, although it had obviously grown out a little bit. The tips of her fingers itched with the need to run her hands through it. Those icy blue eyes stared at her with a touch of friendliness and something she couldn’t quite discern.

  But one thing she could discern for certain: he was the sexiest-looking thing she had seen in a long time. Whatever she was feeling right now definitely wasn’t emotionless. The opposite, in fact.

  There would never be anything emotionless when it came to her and Jace Eakin.

  The thought of feeling something—something real—while a man touched her had Lillian crossing to Jace. Just once she wished she was more of a high-heels-and-short-skirt sort of girl. A girl who knew how to do something with her hair besides pull it back in a ponytail. A girl who knew how to put on makeup to cause her eyes to look mysterious and sultry.

  A girl who knew how to seduce a man like Jace.

  But she wasn’t that girl. All she could do was make her offer straight up with no pretense.

  She stopped when she was directly in front of him. From this close, all she could do was remember that kiss from a few days ago in the parking lot.

  “If you’re done with your work, why don’t you come over to my apartment? We’ve got eighteen hours before we have to report back here. Seems like we ought to be able to find something to do with that time.”

  Passion—the same heat she felt—flared in his eyes for just a moment as he eased closer to her. She felt his fingers grip her hips and knew she would feel those lips on hers again any second. There was nothing she wanted more in the world. Those kisses, as much as she’d tried to tamp them down, had never been far from her conscious mind.

  But then his fingers clenched on her body for just a second before letting her go. He stepped back. Her eyes flew up to his, but his handsome face was carefully masked.

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. For a number of reasons.”

  Everything that had been burning inside Lillian turned to ice. She took a step back, feeling like he’d slapped her.

  “Tiger Lily, it’s not that I don’t feel the attraction,” he continued.

  Maybe she’d been wrong, maybe he hadn’t truly been able to forgive her for leaving him. “It’s about before. About Daryl. Right?”

  He shook his head. “No. It’s not even that. It’s about now, and us being a team and...”

  She waited for him to finish, but he didn’t. Whatever he wasn’t saying was just as important as what he was. But ultimately it came down to one thing, didn’t it?

  She took another short step back from him. “And we really don’t know each other, do we? Not anymore.” Something flickered in his eyes and he reached for her again, but Lillian moved smoothly out of his reach. “You’re right, Jace, this is probably a bad idea. The team has to come first. And casual hookups probably just aren’t your thing.”

  His dark head tilted to the side. “Are they yours? They weren’t at one time.”

  She knew he was talking about how she had felt about her mother when Lillian was growing up. How she’d disdained her mother’s constant revolving door of men. How she swore she would never be that way. That sex would never be a meaningless act.

  She laughed softly even as she felt the wounded heart she hid deep inside crack a little further. For a long time, Lillian hadn’t thought about that promise she’d made to herself. How she’d utterly broken it. She couldn’t even blame it on Daryl. That had been all on her. “I guess we all change. Grow up. Face the real world.”

  “Lily...”

  Lillian knew she had to get out of here. She couldn’t continue to face his blue eyes without crumbling. Knew that if he asked her about her secrets now she would tell him.

  She closed her eyes and regrouped. When she opened them a couple seconds later, she was able to put a smirk on her face. She punched Jace good-naturedly on the arm. “Get some rest, Eakin. I’ll catch you tomorrow. Big day.”

  Without another word she turned, grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

  Alone. As always.

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning when the team met at Omega Sector headquarters in preparation to depart to the LESS Summit, Jace wanted to punch a wall.

  Still wanted to punch a wall. He’d wanted to do so ever since yesterday afternoon, when Lillian offered...whatever it was she had offered.

  He hadn’t known how to handle it. On one hand, there was nothing he wanted more than to get Lillian in his bed. His body didn’t seem to care what had happened between them twelve years ago, or care that she might be the traitor.

  But he found that he couldn’t betray her in that way. Couldn’t take her to bed just to get close to her to find out more about her activities. Ridiculous that he would take her feelings into consideration when it came to the issue of betrayal.

  He’d watched her yesterday on the computer for a long time. She’d been so focused she hadn’t even realized he was there. She’d studied the building plans, examining them over and over until she was able to draw them without looking.

  Unfortunately, the action didn’t necessarily prove her innocence. Maybe she was studying the plans because she wanted to be as prepared as she could possibly be as a member of the SWAT team.

  Or maybe she was studying the building plans because she had nefarious reasons of her own.

  All Jace could say for sure was that she had not tried to communicate with anyone or leave any sort of cryptic messages while he’d been watching, as the mole had been known to do.

  Jace’s gut said the same thing about her now that it had said about her back in Ren’s office: she was not the traitor. But God knew his gut had been wrong about Lillian before.

  He’d basically glued himself to her side for the past week and all he’d found was that she was a damn fine SWAT team member. He hadn’t found anything else that would suggest she was the mole. Lillian had secrets, Jace had no doubt whatsoever that she had secrets. But he didn’t think those secrets had anything to do with national security.

  That look on her face when she’d mentioned casual sex was still haunting him. Hell, Jace hadn’t been a saint for the last decade. He’d had plenty of casual relationships with women in that time. He didn’t hold a double standard. If Lillian had chosen to have a slew of casual sexual encounters, that was her prerogative.

  What gutted him had been the look in her eyes, the completely humorless laugh, when she said that those sexual encounters had been her choice. Obviously somewhere deep inside she wasn’t okay with it. She was hurting herself.

  Steve Drackett’s words of concern about possible sexual assault in her past had been echoing in Jace’s mind for the last eighteen hours. Ever since Lillian had offered a casual hookup with eyes that told him she hated herself.

  He was back to wanting to punch a wall again.

  Not to mention he’d turned her down, which had probably stung also, even though he was doing it—or not doing it—for the right reasons.

  Regardless, Lillian was now in a different
vehicle on the way to Denver this morning. She’d been coldly polite to him as they’d all worked together to pack up equipment. Not unfriendly or rude, just obviously not interested in prolonging any conversations with him. The closeness they’d been building through sheer proximity over the last week was now completely gone.

  Jace had no doubt Lillian would be coolly professional to him throughout the mission. That wasn’t going to help him get close enough to her to find out if she was the one sabotaging Omega Sector. But he wasn’t going to sleep with her to get that info, either.

  Especially not after how she had looked at him yesterday, with such shadows in those brown eyes.

  Jace was going to have to concentrate on the mission in front of him. At this point, if the mole was going to strike, and Lillian was that mole, all he could do was be close enough to stop it. After that, hell if he knew what he would do if she was the mole.

  The LESS Summit started in two days. Already people were gathering in Denver. It was going to be crowded, full of angry and excited people. The situation was already hectic; throw in a potential terrorist attack and the situation became even worse.

  They didn’t even make it all the way into downtown Denver before they hit trouble.

  “Change in plans, everybody,” Derek said from the front seat as the SUV picked up speed. “Just got a call from Denver PD. Evidently, as expected, all the crazies have rolled into town with word of the LESS Summit. There’s a jumper on a highway bridge and we’re closest. They need our help.”

  Jace could see the shift come over the team, especially the more experienced ones.

  “A jumper? As in someone trying to commit suicide?” Philip asked. “Why the hell is SWAT being called in? Just let the person jump.”

  Nobody responded. Being part of a SWAT team was not just about hunting bad guys, shooting and securing buildings. Sometimes it was about defusing situations. Helping people who didn’t know how to help themselves. It had been the same for the US Army Rangers.

  If someone couldn’t understand that, they probably shouldn’t be on the team at all. This was probably a big part of the reason Carnell was only temporary.

  “Shut up, Philip,” Saul muttered, rolling his eyes. Everyone else was obviously thinking the same thing.

  They pulled up at the bridge crossing the highway. Local police were stopping traffic on either side of the road, where a man was standing on the highest part of the overpass, on the outside of the railing, one arm around a light post.

  If he let go, there would be nothing to stop him from flying onto the busy highway below.

  As they got out of the vehicle, a uniformed officer came running over to them. Derek showed him credentials and the officer fully admitted to being in over his head.

  “He’s been out there for about ten minutes. Hasn’t said a word.”

  Lillian and the rest of the team from the second vehicle jogged over to where they were.

  “Okay.” Derek glanced at the man’s chest to get his name. “Officer Milburn, we’re going to take over if that’s all right with you.”

  Milburn nodded enthusiastically.

  “Everybody on open comms, channel A,” Derek continued. “Ashton, Saul, Jace—you need to clear everyone else off this bridge. Everybody wants to be a YouTube sensation, but let’s not make it easy. Carnell, get on the laptop. As soon as we can get this guy’s name, you find whatever info you can on him. Lillian, you’re with me.”

  Lillian shook her head. “Derek, you know I’m no good with the touchy-feely stuff.”

  Derek nodded. “Just in case he responds to a woman better than a man. Lillian and I will be on open comms. None of us deal with this sort of situation a lot, so if you’ve got insight, let us have it.”

  The open comm channel meant that everyone could hear anytime someone else spoke without them having to press a button. It could be chaotic, but in a situation like this, also useful. Jace jogged over to the other side of the bridge and moved the barrier back farther. They couldn’t stop people from recording what was happening, but like Derek had said, they could make it as difficult as possible.

  Jace heard Derek ask the man his name. Ask if it was okay if they stood there and talked. Explained that they wouldn’t come near him.

  Derek did everything right. But the man wasn’t interested in talking.

  “Hey, guys.” It was Saul. “I’ve got an empty vehicle over here that doesn’t belong to anyone. Registration of the vehicle says it belongs to an Oliver Lewis.”

  “Start running the name, Philip,” Derek said softly. “You try talking to him, Lillian.”

  Jace watched as Lillian took her turn, easing a little closer to the man. “Hi, sir, my name is Agent... Lillian. My name is Lillian. Can you just tell us your name?”

  The man shook his head.

  “Is your name Oliver Lewis?” Lillian continued gently. “There’s a car registered to someone named Oliver Lewis. Is that you?”

  “Don’t come any closer,” the man said even though they hadn’t moved. “You can’t stop me.”

  “No, sir,” Derek said immediately, hands out. “We won’t come any closer. We just want to know if that’s your name.”

  The man gave the tiniest of nods.

  “That was a confirmation on the ID,” Jace said so Derek wouldn’t have to take a chance on talking and spooking the guy. “Run everything you have on him, Carnell. Hurry.”

  Derek and Lillian continued to try to get Oliver to talk, but without much success. Finally Philip came back on the comm.

  “Oliver Lewis. Twenty-seven years old. Married. Got out of the army six months ago after nine years in.”

  Lillian turned away from Oliver to look over at him. “Jace, you try.”

  He met her eyes from across the bridge, but spoke softly into the comm unit. “I don’t have any background in this sort of thing.”

  “But you’re military. Maybe he’ll respond to you.”

  “Yes, Jace,” Derek whispered. “We’re not getting through to him at all. If anything we’re doing more harm.”

  He could at least try. He jogged up, slowing to a walk as he neared.

  “Oliver,” Derek said, “this is Jace Eakin. Jace isn’t a normal part of our team, he just stepped in to help out.”

  “Yeah,” Jace agreed. “I just got out of the service. They needed some help here with all the protests and stuff happening in Denver this week, so I’m assisting.”

  “You were in the service?”

  “Army. Tenth Special Forces group.”

  “Ranger,” Oliver whispered, turning to look at Jace for the first time.

  Lillian and Derek were backing away to give Jace and Oliver some semblance of privacy. Jace nodded. “That’s right. You army also?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Not many people would know that the Tenth Special Forces group are Rangers unless they’d been in the army themselves. How long have you been out?”

  “Six months.”

  Jace took the slightest step closer. “How long were you in?”

  “Since I was eighteen. Was the only thing I’ve ever known. And now...” He trailed off.

  Jace nodded. “Adjusting back to civilian life can be really difficult. Especially if you did some hard tours.”

  “Two back-to-back in Afghanistan.”

  Jace asked Oliver questions about his tours. Where he’d been located. Tried to get him to talk about friends, other men and women who’d served in his unit. He continually shifted closer under the guise of discussion, or leaned against the railing, or just listened.

  Although it really wasn’t a guise at all.

  Jace would’ve sat and listened for however long Oliver wanted. People like him were the reason he was opening his ranch in Colorado. For guys like Oliver, who just needed somewhere to go for a while as th
ey sorted out the mess in their head, tried to adjust back into a world that didn’t always fit how they’d been trained.

  “Oliver,” Jace finally said after they’d talked for nearly twenty minutes. “Why don’t you step back over the railing? Whatever it is you’re feeling? Let’s just wait it out, try to find another way. A less permanent solution to whatever’s going on with you.”

  “I hit my wife,” Oliver responded, his tone dripping with remorse. “I freaked out during a nap and punched her in the face. She’s pregnant, Jace. How can I be trusted to be around her? To be around a baby, for God’s sake. I’m toxic.”

  Jace tensed, prepared to make a dive for Oliver if he let go of the railing right now. He was almost close enough to pull back.

  “We’ve already got the wife on the way, Jace.” Derek’s voice came through the comm. “She’s been frantic looking for him. Definitely doesn’t want him to do this.”

  “That’s really hard, man.” Jace might not be schooled in talking down a potential suicide victim, but he knew enough not to discount Oliver’s feelings. “Have you talked to her since it happened?”

  “Why would she ever want to talk to me again?”

  “How long have you two been married?”

  Oliver glanced at him. “Four years.”

  “Well, maybe your wife doesn’t want to throw out four years’ worth of good, just because of one moment of bad.”

  “She woke me up in the middle of a nightmare and I hit her. Hard. Before I even knew what was happening. Could’ve broken her jaw. She was scared of me. I could see it.”

  Jace nodded. “Yeah, but knowing she might have to give you space and wanting you to end your life are two different things. You can see that, right?”

  Oliver shrugged. But at least he was holding on to the railing again.

  “Listen,” Jace continued, “I know this isn’t an answer to all your problems, and you and your wife are going to need to work through a lot, it sounds like. But I have a ranch I’m setting up, just outside Colorado Springs. Horses, dogs, hell, even a few cats. It’s a place for vets to come, spend some time.”

  “You’re just making that up. Just trying to get me to come down.”